Column | Outing the Weinsteins

We know Hollywood moguls are infamous for taking advantage of aspiring young actresses.

The movie producer’s casting couch has been a “tradition” since Tinsel Town began.

But Harvey Weinstein must be setting some kind of record. His sexual rap sheet gets longer every day.

Since the New York Times broke the stories about his serial misconduct earlier this month, more than 40 actresses, studio workers and models have come forward to accuse the powerful producer of everything from sexual harassment to rape.

Now the L.A. Times is reporting that the LAPD is investigating charges by an Italian model-actress that Weinstein raped her in 2013 - within the statute of limitations.

She’s the sixth woman to accuse Weinstein of rape or forcible sex acts. Over the years eight others reportedly received civil settlements from Weinstein’s movie company.

What a charming guy.

I feel for all these women who are coming out and telling the world what sex acts Weinstein allegedly did to them or in front of them when their dreams and careers were at his mercy.

It takes courage for those women to admit that they too were humiliated, abused and taken advantage of by an A-list Hollywood slime ball.

But everyone knows Weinstein isn’t the only powerful producer or director in Hollywood who regularly expected sex in exchange for making someone a movie star.

There are other Weinsteins, and lots of people in the film community know exactly who they are.

Actresses and actors warn their friends to watch out for Producer X or Director Y, but they never make their names public. They should.

Instead of merely tweeting “Me too,” the women who say they have been sexually harassed and assaulted in Hollywood (and everywhere else) need to start naming names.

This could be a chance for women in Hollywood to put a stop to the casting couch culture Weinstein took full advantage of for three decades.

Times have changed. Women are listened to now when they report sexual misconduct by their bosses or colleagues.

They’re protected by harassment laws and supported by the media. They’re no longer shamed publicly for revealing that they have been victims of sexual predators in the workplace.

In the end, Hollywood is all about money. You can even be an open conservative Republican in Hollywood - as long as Hollywood is making money off you.

It’s the same with top actresses - the A-listers. They make a lot of money for Hollywood, so they have power to change things.

A-list actresses need to join together and start naming the names of the other Weinsteins.

That way they can protect the B-listers and the future young stars – girls and boys – from becoming new victims of an immoral and rotten culture that has been tolerated in Hollywood for way too long.